This season Defected's Hannah Thomas will be bringing you weekly updates direct from Ibiza.
Week 3
After a month of what can only be described as opening party fever , the aphorism “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” is definitely one that springs to mind and one I’ve taken on board this past week by substituting never ending nights with long lazy sleeps, long lazy days in the sunshine, and long lazy asados with friends.
My favourite day of rest was spent at S’Estanyol, a relatively undiscovered beach just north of Talamanca on the south east of the island. If you’re anything like me, and love to avoid beaches frequented by the masses then I’d highly recommend paying S’Estanyol a visit. For me, the more tricky to reach and poorly signposted the place, the better I and this is definitely the case for this unspoiled little bay just left off the Jesus road on the way to Talamanca. For years the beach bar and restaurant PK2 has been a favourite haunt for Iocals; the great music, good food and rustic décor the key to its success and the tranquil setting, unpretentious clientele and crystal clear waters make it one of my favourite spots for some serious down time.
On the clubbing front, this week has been decidedly tamer than previous weeks, yet I did venture out on a couple of occasions for work purposes. My first outing was to Amnesia’s Together on Tuesday, a night that was a biggy for a number of reasons. Not only was it a my first night working as artist liaison at Amnesia but it was the first time my housemate Tito (aka Aphex) bagged himself a prime time set in the main room. Needless to say our villa was a hub of excitement as I left.
Musically speaking, with headliners including Skrillex, Major Lazor , Chase and Status and Pendulum, it couldn’t have been more different from last week’s Music On if it tried; a distinctly more commercial fusion of dub step, electro, drum and bass and house that had over 5,000 predominantly young and off-their-faces British fans jam packed in and body popping to many a bizarre and, dare I say, unmusical sound – an auditory discombobulation that someone once analogised as robots playing violins.
An exchange with a particularly overzealous lad from Southport who was in search of Skrillex pretty much summed up the crowd for me. After telling him he needed to head to the Terrace, he asked “where’s that?” to which I replied, “oh is it your first time here?” He looked at me vacantly and said “no, I’ve been here eight times actually”. I hope he got home OK!
As predicted, Chase ‘n’ Status played my favourite set of the night and had the wall to wall crowd singing to their anthems ‘Blind Faith’ and ‘End Credits’. As they dropped one of my all-time favourites, ‘Take Me away’ it really made me question why I ever stopped going to drum and bass nights. All in all, the super friendly crowd, staff and down to earth artists made my first night working at Amnesia a real pleasure.
Over at DFTD at The Ushuaia Tower on Monday, it was the turn of London party outfit Krankbrother to play host to his incredible venue, and it was the brothers themselves who really got the party started. The slowly building crowd who had been so obviously itching to dance, were finally enticed to the dance floor, and after 15 minutes or so, the party had really started to take a hold. In my humble opinion, it think their set really stood out; their upbeat, funk and disco infused, sounds really appealing to the diverse and noticeably international fun loving crowd, and perfectly fitting for the summertime setting. It was the first time I’d seen them play and I think they got it spot on. Great stuff! I really can’t wait for the first of their boat parties now!
DJ Tennis played a little harder whilst maintaining the groove. He dropped Rodriguez Jr’s ‘Ocean Drive’ which really killed it for me as it’s SUCH a cool track and one that I think is overlooked. Although I really love Thugfucker’s typically creative and experimental sound, I did feel it was lost on the crowd somewhat and would have resonated better a few decibels louder. Nevertheless the crowd were faithful to the end and although it never reached full capacity, it was definitely up there with my favourite day time parties of the season so far. Rumour has definitely began to spread and I’d be stunned if this party doesn’t become one of the essential parties of 2013.
Ciao for now xxx
Defected hits Sankeys Ibiza Saturday 22nd June - click for more details
Defected presents DFTD is at The Ushuaia Tower every Monday from 3pm, full listings info here
